The first race of the SCORE International season is officially in the books, and for Bronco fans, it couldn’t have started in more amazing fashion. RJ Zanon and the Pew Pew Cachoo Racing team fought through one of the most punishing San Felipe 250s in recent memory to take first place in Class 3, putting the No. 301 Bronco on top of the podium and one step closer to a SCORE championship run.
If you read our previous feature on RJ’s plans for the season, you knew this year would be a test. San Felipe didn’t just test, it tried to break them.
Racing the Heat—and Everything Else
“The San Felipe 250 was hot,” RJ said bluntly. “We broke down in 126-degree ground heat. Just the air temperature was well over 100 degrees.”
San Felipe has always been known for brutal conditions, but this year pushed racers to the edge. The course, stacked with deep, relentless whoops, technical washes, and punishing rock sections, became a battlefield of attrition.
“The whoops were incredible,” RJ said. “At mile marker 60, we had a 31-mph average—which is insane for us. We were actually passing ATVs in the whoops section.”
That early pace put the 301 Bronco in a strong position. But Baja had other plans.
The Breakdown in Matomi Wash
Pushing through a wash section, RJ began to notice something wasn’t right.
“We started noticing the engine cutting out. It was incredibly hot, so we thought it was vapor lock. Then suddenly, there was a loss of power. We pulled off the course, hit the start button, and got nothing.”
What followed was a full trail-side diagnosis under extreme conditions.
The team initially suspected the fuel pump and quickly swapped in a spare. Still nothing.
Using Starlink to connect with their fabricator, they began troubleshooting in real time.
“We checked fuel pressure—it wasn’t building. We started eliminating possibilities. Opened a secondary vent, no hissing. But the pickup line was hissing when we handled it—and that shouldn’t happen.”
That’s when things escalated.
“We started disassembling the fuel cell, there was fuel spraying and spilling everywhere. Austin, my co-driver had the fire extinguisher ready.”
The issue: a bent pickup line, with the hose essentially collapsed in on itself.
They rerouted it on the fly.
“Disconnected it, rerouted it around, plugged it back in, turned on the fuel pump… but we couldn’t get the fuel cell back together easily.”
The entire repair took roughly 2.5 hours—sitting exposed in the heat of Matomi Wash.
“We were smoked,” RJ said. “I was sore, overheated, cotton mouth dehydrated… working on a black fuel cell, in a racing suit, in that heat.”
Digging Deep to Finish
At that point, many teams would have called it. But finishing and winning, was still technically possible. “We felt like we needed to finish, to show that we and the Bronco had the grit to race Baja, to prove that the 1000 last November was not just beginner’s luck. We knew it was still possible to finish. So, we kept going.”
What followed was a gritty, determined push to the finish line that resulted in:
Two flat tires, they got stuck in a huge ditch for over 30 minutes requiring recovery, a wrong turn on course, and ultimately trying to recover from crippling dehydration and minor burns.
Even fueling was tight. “We only had one fuel stop at mile 141 and took 26 gallons, pretty decent fuel economy considering the conditions.”
At one point, just 15 minutes from a pit, the team needed assistance to get moving again.
Still, they never quit.
As darkness fell, the 301 Bronco pressed on.
A Race of Attrition
San Felipe lived up to its reputation, and then some.
“The course took out vehicles,” RJ said. “Lots of breakdowns. Engine issues from the heat. It was brutal.”
In a move to cope with the hot conditions, the team had removed the windshield to improve airflow inside the Bronco.
And despite having completed the Baja 1000 just months earlier, his first-ever race, RJ didn’t hesitate to compare the two.
“Honestly, the San Felipe 250 was more difficult. It’s like all the worst parts of the 1000 condensed into one terrible race,” he said. “I was more sore and more tired after the 250 than I was after 40 hours of the 1000.”
The Team Behind the Finish
Endurance racing is never a solo effort, and RJ was quick to highlight the people who made the finish, and the win, possible.
“A big shout out to the people who keep the machine running,” he said. None of this would happen without the community and it includes some great friends who supported San Felipe like, “Alex Gonzalez (Gonzo), Edgar Go (El Bronkito), Bekah Lewis, Chema Uribe, Bob Badham, and Matt & Sarah Girgis.
Co-driving duties are being developed by Amanda Walden and Caleb Patterson, both of whom also played key roles on the crew, with Caleb serving as crew chief. Looking ahead, there will be a shift for the next races.
“Amanda will likely be co-driver for the 400 and 500,” RJ noted, as Austin will be unable to attend. “Her job over this race was to learn the navigation, the race cadence and routing.”
Beating Baja—and the Clock
After everything—the breakdown, the repairs, the setbacks, RJ Zanon crossed the finish line with just 45 minutes to spare inside the 14-hour limit.
First place in class.
A victory that wasn’t given, it was earned the hard way. Bronco vs. Baja.
One Race Down
San Felipe proved exactly what kind of season this will be: unpredictable, punishing, and demanding everything from both driver and machine.
But it also proved something else, the 301 Bronco team has the grit to fight through it.
With maximum points on the board and momentum on their side, RJ Zanon’s SCORE championship campaign is officially underway.
One down. Three to go. Stay tuned for more action, the next race is June with the 58th running of the Baja 500.
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